The Presidential Daily Brief

intriguing

Philippines Votes to Defund Human Rights Budget to $20

They’re penny-pinching. The Philippine government is likely to face criticism after lawmakers voted to slash the annual budget for its Commission on Human Rights to a mere $20. The embattled institution, which investigates abuses related to the country’s notoriously tough war on drugs, says the move amounts to payback from controversial President Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters in the legislature. The restrictive measure now awaits approval from the country’s Senate, and it’s not the only one: Lawmakers have also proposed defunding drug rehabilitation programs by around 75 percent.